Kara Sea | Sea in Arctic Ocean Kara Sea Kara Sea The Kara Sea is a part of the Arctic Ocean lies north of Siberia. It is separated from the Barents Sea on the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and the Laptev Sea on the east by the Severnaya Zemlya. Geography The Kara Sea covers roughly about 1,450 kilometers long and 970 kilometers wide with an area of around 880,000 km and a mean depth of 110 meters (360 ft). The Kara Sea's Northern boundary is marked by a line running from Cape Kohlsaat in Graham Bell Island, Franz Josef Land, to Cape Molotov (Arctic Cape), the northernmost point of Komsomolets Island in Severnaya Zemlya. Climate Compared to the Barents Sea, the Kara Sea is much colder, remind frozen for over nine months of a year. Novy Port and Dikson are the main ports of the sea and it is an important fishing spot though the sea is ice-bounded for all but two months of the year.

The average air temperature is below 32 F (0 C) in the north (9 to 10 months) and in the south (7 to 8 months) a year. In January the average temperatures are from 30 to 43 F (-1 to 6 C) and the minimum is -51 F (-46 C). In July the average temperatures are from 30 to 43 F (-1 to 6 C), with a maximum of 61 F (16 C). Summer brings snow, fogs and snow squalls, while in winter brings gales and snow storm. Water temperature in winter are from 29.1 F (-1.6 C), while in summer it reaches 43 F (6 C) in the southwestern part of the sea and 36 F (2 C) in the north. Fauna Cod, salmon, and sturgeon are the fishes found in Kara sea and also sea mammals include seal, sea hare, walrus, white whale, and polar bear. Islands Kara Sea has many islands and island groups.

Arkticheskiy Institut Islands, the Izvesti Tsik Islands, the Kirov Islands, Uedineniya or Lonely Island, Vize Island, and Voronina Island are the islands located in the open sea of its central regions. The largest group of island here is the Nordenskild Archipelago, with five large subgroups and over ninety islands. Bely Island, Dikson Island, Taymyr Island, the Kamennyye Islands and Oleni Island are the other important islands in the Kara Sea. Arctic Ocean - 2 | Britannica.com Arctic Ocean smallest of the world’s oceans, centring approximately on the North Pole. Displaying 1 - 74 of 74 results Amund Ringnes one of the Sverdrup Islands in Nunavut, Canada, in the Arctic Ocean, between Axel Heiberg and Ellef Ringnes islands. About 70 miles (115 km) long, 20–45 miles (30–70 km) wide, and 2,029 square miles (5,255 square km) in area, Amund Ringnes is basically...

Amundsen Gulf southeastern extension of the Beaufort Sea of the Arctic Ocean. Extending for 250 miles (400 km), it is bordered by Victoria Island on the east and separates Banks Island (north) from the Canadian mainland (south). In 1850 the gulf was entered from the... Arctic Archipelago Group of Canadian islands, Arctic Ocean. They lie north of the Canadian mainland and have an area of about 550,000 sq mi (1,424,500 sq km). The southeastern islands are an extension of the Canadian Shield; the balance consists of the Arctic lowlands... Arctic Ocean smallest of the world’s oceans, centring approximately on the North Pole. The Arctic Ocean and its marginal seas—the Chukchi, East Siberian, Laptev, Kara, Barents, White, Greenland, and Beaufort and, according to some oceanographers, also the Bering... Back River river in northern Mackenzie and Keewatin districts, Nunavut, Canada, that rises from several small lakes northeast of Great Slave Lake.

It flows northeastward through the Barren Grounds (a sub-Arctic prairie region) for 605 miles (975 km), widening to... Banks Island westernmost island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Inuvik region, Northwest Territories; it lies northwest of Victoria Island and is separated from the mainland (south) by Amundsen Gulf. About 250 miles (400 km) long and 110–180 miles (180–290 km)... Barents Sea outlying portion of the Arctic Ocean 800 miles (1,300 km) long and 650 miles (1,050 km) wide and covering 542,000 square miles (1,405,000 square km). Its average depth is 750 feet (229 m), plunging to a maximum of 2,000 feet (600 m) in the major Bear... Barrow Canyon submarine canyon incised into the Arctic continental shelf off Alaska.

From its head in the Chukchi Sea, about 95 miles (150 km) west of Point Barrow, in water depths of about 150 feet (45 metres), the canyon trends northeast along the coast and crosses... Beaufort Sea outlying sea of the Arctic Ocean situated north of Canada and Alaska. It extends northeastward from Point Barrow, Alaska, toward Lands End on Prince Patrick Island, and westward from Banks Island to the Chukchi Sea. Its surface area is about 184,000... Belcher, Sir Edward naval officer who performed many coastal surveys for the British Admiralty. The grandson of a governor of Nova Scotia, Belcher entered the navy in 1812. After serving as a surveyor with an expedition to the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Strait in 1825,... Bering Strait strait linking the Arctic Ocean with the Bering Sea and separating the continents of Asia and North America at their closest point. The strait averages 98 to 164 feet (30 to 50 metres) in depth and at its narrowest is about 53 miles (85 km) wide. There...

Byam Martin Island one of the Parry Islands in Nunavut, Canada, in the Arctic Ocean, east of Melville Island. About 30 miles (50 km) long and 20 miles (30 km) wide, with an area of 376 square miles (974 square km), the island has a rolling terrain rising from smooth coasts... Chukchi Sea part of the Arctic Ocean, bounded by Wrangel Island (west), northeastern Siberia and northwestern Alaska (south), the Beaufort Sea (east), and the Arctic continental slope (north). It has an area of 225,000 square miles (582,000 square km) and an average... Coppermine River stream, in southern Kitikmeot region, Nunavut territory, and northern Fort Smith region, Northwest Territories, Canada. From its source in a small lake of the Barren Grounds (a subarctic prairie region), north of Great Slave Lake, it flows northward... Cornwallis Island one of the Parry Islands in the Arctic Ocean, Baffin region, Nunavut territory, Canada.

Located north of Barrow Strait between Devon and Bathurst islands, Cornwallis Island is about 70 miles (115 km) long and 30–60 miles (50–100 km) wide and has an area... Denmark Strait channel partially within the Arctic Circle, lying between Greenland (west) and Iceland (east). About 180 miles (290 km) wide at its narrowest point, the strait extends southward for 300 miles (483 km) from the Greenland Sea to the open waters of the... Devon Island largest of the Parry Islands, in Nunavut, Canada, in the Arctic Ocean south of Ellesmere Island and west of Baffin Bay. It is about 320 miles (515 km) long, 80–100 miles (130–160 km) wide, and has an area of 21,331 square miles (55,247 square km). Chiefly... East Siberian Sea part of the Arctic Ocean between the New Siberian Islands (west) and Wrangel Island (east).

To the west it is connected to the Laptev Sea by the Dmitrya Lapteva, Eterikan, and Sannikov straits; to the east Long Strait connects it with the Chukchi Sea.... Ellesmere Island largest island of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Baffin region, Nunavut territory, Canada, located off the northwest coast of Greenland. The island is believed to have been visited by Vikings in the 10th century. It was seen in 1616 by the explorer William... Franz Josef Land archipelago of 191 islands in the northeastern Barents Sea, the northernmost territory of Russia. It falls administratively into Arkhangelsk oblast (province). The islands, with a land area of 6,229 square miles (16,134 square km), consist of three groups.... Greenland the world’s largest island, lying in the North Atlantic Ocean. Greenland is noted for its vast tundra and immense glaciers. Although Greenland remains a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the island’s home-rule government is responsible for most domestic...

Greenland Sea outlying portion of the Arctic Ocean, with an area of 465,000 square miles (1,205,000 square km). It lies south of the Arctic Basin proper and borders Greenland (west), Svalbard (east), the main Arctic Ocean (north), and the Norwegian Sea and Iceland... Grímsey Icelandic island in the Greenland Sea, 50 miles (80 km) north of the town of Akureyri on the northern coast of Iceland. The island, 3 miles (5 km) long and 2 square miles (5 square km) in area, straddles the Arctic Circle and is the northernmost inhabited... Iceland island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. Lying on the constantly active geologic border between North America and Europe, Iceland is a land of vivid contrasts of climate, geography, and culture. Sparkling glaciers, such as Vatna Glacier (Vatnajökull),... Indigirka River river, Sakha republic (Yakutia), far eastern Russia. It is one of the major rivers of northeastern Siberia.

The Indigirka rises in the Verkhoyansk Mountains and flows 1,072 miles (1,726 km) north through the Chersky Range into the broad Indigirka lowland,... Jan Mayen island, part of the Kingdom of Norway, in the Greenland Sea of the Arctic Ocean, about 300 mi (500 km) east of Greenland. It is approximately 35 mi long and 9 mi across at its widest point, with an area of 144 sq mi (373 sq km). It is the peak of a submarine... Jökulsá á Fjöllum river, northeastern Iceland, fed by the northern meltwaters of the Vatna Glacier in east-central Iceland; it flows northward for 128 miles (206 km) to Axar Fjord, an arm of the Greenland Sea. The river skirts the eastern margins of Ódádhahraun, an extensive... Kaffeklubben Island island and one of the world’s northernmost points of land, in the Arctic Ocean, 37 km (20 nautical miles) east of Cape Morris Jesup, Greenland.

Kaffeklubben (Danish: “Coffee Club”) was discovered in 1900 by Robert E. Peary, the American Arctic explorer.... Kara Sea marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off western Siberia (Russia), between the Novaya Zemlya islands (west), Franz Josef Land (northwest), and the Severnaya Zemlya islands (east). It is connected with the Arctic Basin (north), the Barents Sea (west),... King Christian Island island, one of the Sverdrup Islands in Nunavut, Canada, in the Arctic Ocean, just south of Ellef Ringnes Island. About 26 miles (42 km) long and 17 miles (27 km) wide, it has an area of 448 square miles (1,160 square km) and a maximum elevation of 700... Kolguyev Island island, Arkhangelsk oblast (region), northwestern Russia. Kolguyev lies in the Barents Sea and is 45 miles (72 km) off the mainland.

About 3,220 square miles (5,200 square km) in area, it is an island of bogs and morainic hills, covered by vegetation... Kolyma River river in northeastern Siberia, far eastern Russia, rising in the Kolyma Mountains. It is 1,323 miles (2,129 km) long and drains an area of 250,000 square miles (647,000 square km). In its upper course it flows through narrow gorges, with many rapids.... Kongs Fjord inlet, Spitsbergen island (Norway), Arctic Ocean. Kongs Fjord is an arm of the Arctic Ocean measuring 16 miles (26 km) long and ranging in width from 4 to 9 miles (6 to 14 km). The head of the bay (southeast) receives the waters of the Kongsvegen glacier....

Laptev Sea marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean off the coast of Northern Siberia (Russia), bounded by the Taymyr Peninsula (Poluostrov) and the islands of Severnaya Zemlya on the west and by the New Siberian Islands and Kotelny Island on the east. It is connected... Lena River major river of Russia and the 11th longest river, or river system, in the world. It flows 2,734 miles (4,400 km) from its sources in the mountains along the western shores of Lake Baikal, in southeastern Siberia, to the mouth of its delta on the Arctic... Lomonosov Ridge major submarine ridge of the Arctic Ocean. The ridge is 1,100 miles (1,800 km) long. From Ellesmere Island on the continental shelf of North America, the ridge extends north to a point near the North Pole and then continues south to a point near the... Mackenzie River major river system in the drainage pattern of northwestern North America. Its basin is the largest in Canada, and it is exceeded on the continent only by the Mississippi-Missouri system.

The Mackenzie system drains an area of some 697,000 square miles... Meighen Island one of the Sverdrup Islands in Franklin district, Northwest Territories, Canada. It lies in the Arctic Ocean, west of Axel Heiberg Island and north of Ellef Ringnes and Amund Ringnes islands. It is about 30 miles (50 km) long, 8–15 miles (13–25 km) wide,... Melville Island one of the largest of the Parry Islands, in the Arctic Ocean, divided between the Northwest Territories and Nunavut territory, Canada. Separated from Victoria Island (south) by Viscount Melville Sound and from Banks Island (southwest) by McClure Strait,... New Siberian Islands archipelago, northeastern Russia, lying north of eastern Siberia in the Arctic Ocean and dividing the Laptev Sea to the west from the East Siberian Sea to the east. Dmitry Laptev Strait separates the New Siberian Islands from the Siberian mainland. The...

North Cape Current oceanic surface current, the northernmost extension of the Norway Current (a part of the North Atlantic Current), bathing the northern coasts of Norway, Finland, and Russia’s Kola Peninsula. Characterized by warm temperatures (39°–54° F [4°–12° C]) and... North Polar Basin vast and deep submarine depression in the Arctic Ocean defined by the continental shelves of Eurasia and North America. The basin is divided into two main parts, the Central Polar Basin and the Norwegian Basin, by a sill, or narrow underwater ridge,... North Pole northern end of Earth’s axis, lying in the Arctic Ocean, about 450 miles (725 km) north of Greenland. This geographic North Pole does not coincide with the magnetic North Pole—to which magnetic compasses point and which in the early 21st century lay... Northern Dvina River river formed by the junction of the Sukhona and Yug rivers at the city of Velikiy Ustyug, in Vologod oblast (province) of Russia. The Northern Dvina is one of the largest and most important waterways of the northern European portion of Russia. It flows...

Northwest Passage historical sea passage of the North American continent. It represents centuries of effort to find a route westward from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through the Arctic Archipelago of what became Canada. History of exploration The quest for... Novaya Zemlya archipelago in northwestern Russia, lying in the Arctic Ocean and separating the Barents and Kara seas. Novaya Zemlya (“New Land”) consists of two large islands, Severny (northern) and Yuzhny (southern), aligned for 600 miles (1,000 km) in a southwest-northeast... Ob, Gulf of large inlet of the Kara Sea indenting northwestern Siberia, between the peninsulas of Yamal and Gyda, in north-central Russia. The gulf forms the outlet for the Ob River, the delta of which is choked by a huge sandbar. The gulf is about 500 miles (800... Ob River river of central Russia. One of the greatest rivers of Asia, the Ob flows north and west across western Siberia in a twisting diagonal from its sources in the Altai Mountains to its outlet through the Gulf of Ob into the Kara Sea of the Arctic Ocean....

ocean continuous body of salt water that is contained in enormous basins on Earth’s surface. When viewed from space, the predominance of Earth’s oceans is readily apparent. The oceans and their marginal seas cover nearly 71 percent of Earth’s surface, with... Olenyok River river rising on the southern slopes of the Bukochan Ridge on the Central Siberian Plateau and flowing mainly through Sakha (Yakutiya), east-central Russia. The total length of the river is 1,424 miles (2,292 km), and it has a drainage basin of 84,500... Parry Islands archipelago in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, Canada. The archipelago is part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands. It lies south and west of Ellesmere Island in the Arctic Ocean. Major islands are Devon, Cornwallis, Bathurst, Melville, and Prince... Pechora River river in Russia, having a course of 1,124 miles (1,809 km).

Rising in the northern Urals near Mount Koyp, it flows south in a narrow, deep valley, then west and north across an extensive, level basin to enter the Barents Sea by a delta. The Pechora drains... Pechora Sea sea lying to the north of European Russia, between Kolguyev Island to the west and the Yugorsky Peninsula to the east. To the north is Novaya Zemlya. The Pechora Sea is, in effect, a southeastern extension of the Barents Sea. Its average depth is 20... Point Barrow northernmost point of Alaska, U.S., situated on the Arctic Ocean. Archaeological evidence dates human habitation (by Inupiaq Eskimo s) in the area from about 500 ce. The headland was explored in 1826 by Frederick W. Beechey and named for Sir John Barrow,... Porsangen fjord, indenting the coast of extreme northern Norway on the Arctic Ocean. An inlet of the Barents Sea, the fjord is approximately 80 miles (130 km) long and lies well north of the Arctic Circle.

Adjacent to the mouth of the fjord is a largely uninhabited... Prince Patrick Island westernmost of the Parry Islands, in the Arctic Ocean, Northwest Territories, Canada. It is separated from Melville Island (southeast) by the Kellett and Fitzwilliam straits and from Banks Island (south) by M’Clure Strait. Prince Patrick Island is about... Prudhoe Bay small inlet of the Beaufort Sea and Arctic Ocean, indenting the northern coast of Alaska, U.S. It is situated about 200 miles (320 km) east-southeast of Point Barrow. The bay has been the centre of drilling activities since the discovery of vast petroleum... Queen Elizabeth Islands part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, comprising all the islands north of latitude 74°30′ N, including the Parry and Sverdrup island groups. The islands, the largest of which are Ellesmere, Melville, Devon, and Axel Heiberg, have a total land area... Richardson, Sir John Scottish naval surgeon and naturalist who made accurate surveys of more of the Canadian Arctic coast than any other explorer.

After receiving his medical qualification at the University of Edinburgh and passing the examination of the Royal College of... Robeson Channel northernmost part of the sea passage connecting Baffin Bay, an inlet of the North Atlantic Ocean, with the Lincoln Sea, a portion of the Arctic Ocean, to the north. The channel is 11–18 miles (18–29 km) wide between Ellesmere Island, Can. (west), and... Russia country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. Once the preeminent republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.; commonly known as the Soviet Union), Russia became an independent country after the dissolution... Severnaya Zemlya Russian “Northern Land”, archipelago, Krasnoyarsk kray (region), northern Russia. It lies in the Arctic Ocean between the Kara Sea (west) and Laptev Sea (east). Severnaya Zemlya lies immediately north of Cape Chelyuskin, the most northerly point in Siberia,... Somerset Island island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Nunavut.

It is separated from Boothia Peninsula (south) by the narrow Bellot Strait, from Prince of Wales Island (west) by Peel Sound, and from Baffin Island (east) by Prince Regent Inlet. It is about 160 miles... Spitsbergen largest island of the Svalbard archipelago, part of Norway, in the Arctic Ocean. Spitsbergen, with an area of 15,075 square miles (39,044 square km), is approximately 280 miles (450 km) long and ranges from 25 to 140 miles (40 to 225 km) wide. The terrain... Svalbard archipelago, part of Norway, located in the Arctic Ocean well north of the Arctic Circle. The islands lie between longitude 10° and 35° E and latitude 74° and 81° N, about 580 miles (930 km) north of Tromsø, Norway. The archipelago is composed of nine...

Sverdrup Islands archipelago in Franklin district, Northwest Territories, part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Canada, in the Arctic Ocean, west of Ellesmere Island. Named for Otto Sverdrup (1885–1930), the Norwegian Arctic explorer, the major islands are Axel Heiberg... Tana River River, northeastern Norway. It flows 224 mi (360 km) north and northeast to empty into Tana Fjord, an inlet of the Arctic Ocean on the northeastern coast of Norway. The river forms a section of the boundary between Norway and Finland. Tuktoyaktuk hamlet, Inuvik region, northwestern Northwest Territories, Canada, lying on the Beaufort Sea. It is situated 20 miles (32 km) east of the Mackenzie River delta and 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Inuvik town. Tuktoyaktuk (an Inuit word for “reindeer... Victoria Island second largest island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

Divided administratively between the Northwest Territories and the territory of Nunavut, it is separated from the mainland on the south by Dolphin and Union Strait, Coronation Gulf, Dease Strait,... White Sea an almost landlocked extension of the Arctic Ocean indenting the shores of northwestern Russia. It is connected to the more northerly Barents Sea by a long, narrow strait known as the Gorlo (“Throat”). The boundary between the two seas runs along a line... Wrangel Island island, in Chukotka autonomous okrug (district), far northeastern Russia, lying in the Arctic Ocean and separating the East Siberian Sea from the Chukchi Sea. The long, narrow island is about 78 miles (125 km) wide and occupies an area of some 2,800... Yenisey River river of central Russia, one of the longest rivers in Asia. The world’s sixth largest river in terms of discharge, the Yenisey runs from south to north across the great expanse of central Siberia. It traverses a vast region of strikingly varied landscapes...

Arctic Ocean - Marine Biodiversity Wiki Marine Biodiversity Wiki Local environment Definition and basic facts The Arctic Ocean consists of a deep Ocean Basin, the broad shelves of the Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, the White Sea, the Lincoln Sea and the narrow shelf off Canadian Arctic Archipelago and northern Greenland [1] . Its spatial extent is constrained by the Fram Strait, the western limit of the Barents Sea, the Bering Strait and the Canadian Archipelago (Fig. 1). Figure 1: Arctic Ocean and its constituent seas. Red dotted line indicates the limits of the Arctic Ocean. Main basins of the deep Arctic Ocean basin: NB – Nansen Basin, AB – Amundsen Basin, MB – Makarov Basin, CB – Canada Basin. The bathymetric map is based on IBCAO model v.2. [2] Arctic Ocean and its constituent seas make around 3 % of the total ocean area and only about 1 % of the volume. The Arctic Ocean is the shallowest (mean depth 1361 m) and has significantly larger continental shelves than other oceans.

The deep central Arctic Ocean Basin consists of four abyssal plains separated by submarine ridges. The abyssal plains make 12 %, while ridges make 16 % of the total area of the Arctic Ocean [1] . Lomonosov Ridge divide the Arctic Basin into two major sub-basins: Eurasian Basin and Amerasian Basin. Gakkel Ridge subdivides Eurasian Basin into Amundsen and Nansen Basins, while the Alpha-Mendelejev Ridge subdivides Amerasian Basin into Canada and Makarov Basins (Fig. 1). Continental shelves encompass broad shelves of Eurasia and narrow shelves off North America and northern Greenland and altogether make up as much as 53 % of the total area of the Arctic Ocean. The Barents Sea is the largest of the epicontinental seas. The Laptev and East Siberian Seas are the shallowest (mean depths – 48 and 58 m, respectively). The Lincoln Sea and the adjacent area of the Northern Canadian Arctic Archipelago are the deepest portions of the Arcic Ocean shelve seas (mean depths – 257 and 338 m, respectively).

Arctic Ocean is nearly landlocked, the only connections to the other oceans are: 1) Bering Strait (depth 45 m), 2) Canadian Archipelago (depth 220 m) and 3) Fram Strait (depth 2600 m). Stratification and circulation Figure 2: Stratification of the Arctic Ocean water masses and seawater exchange with Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. (modified from MacDonald and Bewers [3] ) The stratification in the Arctic Ocean is maintained by the fresh water dynamics. The major freshwater sources include: rivers (Arctic Ocean receives around 11 % of the global river runoff discharge), precipitation and ice melt. The low- salinity water from Pacific Ocean inflows via Bering Strait. The low-saline, cold surface waters occupy the upper ~ 50 m and form PML (Polar Mixed Layer) (Fig. 2). Polar halocline (a layer of cold water with a steep salinity gradients) forms below PML and limits the exchange between surface and deep ocean water masses. Deeper water masses are formed by transformed Atlantic waters.

The dominant features of the surface circulation are the clockwise Beaufort Gyre (over the Canadian Basin) and the Transpolar Drift (flowing from the Siberian coast towards the Fram Strait) (Fig. 3). The cold and low salinity Arctic surface waters are exported to the North Atlantic Ocean by East Greenland Current and through the Canadian Archipelago. Warm and high salinity Atlantic water inflow the Arctic Ocean via the Fram Strait and the Barents Sea. Figure 3: Surface circulation and sea ice extent in the Arctic Ocean. A graphic produced by Philippe Rekacewicz, (UNEP/GRID-Arendal) and available at (Last visited March 11, 2009) Sea ice The polar halocline isolates surface water masses and sea-ice from warm deep water and thus acts as a determining factor for the existence of all-year sea ice cover. The ocean’s interior is all year covered with perennial (multi-year) pack ice, while seasonal (first-year) ice-cover is formed on the marginal seas from October to June. The spatial extent of sea ice varies from 14-15 mln km2 in March to 6-7 mln km2 in September (Fig.

3). The inflows of warm Atlantic waters usually keeps the southern part of the Barents sea ice-free year round. The average thickness of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is about 3 m. Land-fast ice (up to 2 m in thickness) grows seaward from the shore and usually extends to the 20 m isobath. Two forms of open water areas can occur in the winter ice-cover: 1) flaw lead systems – discontinuities between the land-fast ice and off-shore sea-ice or 2) polynyas – where ice is carried away by winds or currents or melted by the local convection of warm deep water masses. Primary production Primary productivity in the Arctic Ocean is relatively low, but can vary considerably between regions [4] . The productivity of the central Arctic Basin is among the lowest recorded in the world seas. The primary production is limited by the presence of multiyear ice- cover and very short growing season. The Siberian shelf seas also exhibit low productivity that is mostly nutrient-limited: the Siberian rivers are phosphorous-poor and the multi-year ice covers the shelf break, thus hindering the wind-driven upwelling of nutrient-rich deep waters at the shelf edge.

In contrast, Barents Sea (that is kept ice-free by the inflows of warm Atlantic waters) and Chukchi Sea (that is supplied with nutrient-rich Bering Sea waters) can have primary production several times higher that the Arctic Ocean average (Table 1). Table 1. Average annual primary production (av PP [gC m-2 y-1]) and total areal primary production (tot PP [106 t C]) in the Arctic Ocean and its constituent seas. After several authors compiled by Sakshaug [4] area >329 Specific biodiversity issues Arctic Ocean fauna is relatively young and comprise few endemics, it is mostly composed of species of Pacific or Atlantic affinity [5] .

The origin and evolution of the arctic biota was summarized by Dunton [5] : north polar sea originated as a large northern embayment of the North Pacific in the Mesozoic, in late Cretaceous large connections to subtropical Gulf of Mexico and to tropical Tethys sea were developed (that could result in some subtropical taxa migrations and may explain the origin of some Arctic species with phylogenetic affinities with warm-water taxa) about the end of Cretaceous the deep-water connection (and the exchange of bathyal and abyssal fauna) between Arctic Ocean and North Pacific was closed by continental plate movements, deep-water seaways between Arctic Ocean and North Atlantic (and the migration of Atlantic taxa) occurred by the end of Eocene, that coincided with a large cooling of the northern high latitude areas (temperature decreased to below 10˚C) successive cooling (temperatures dropped to below 5˚C in late Miocene) and the exchange with the North Atlantic led to the development of cool-temperate arctic biota of the Atlantic character in late Pliocene the Bering Land Bridge was breached and the shallow water passage between Pacific Ocean and Arctic Ocean opened – the arctic fauna was strongly supplemented by migrants from Pacific

 Ocean perennial ice cover developed in Pleistocene, when the Arctic was subjected to numerous glacial and interglacial intervals; during the maximum of the last major glaciation (18 ky ago) the Arctic shelves were either covered with permanent ice sheets or emergent and so the shallow water fauna was nearly completely eradicated.

Arctic shallow seas are now considered to remain in a phase of colonization (after the last deglaciation, i.e. for the last 6-14 ky) [5] . Figure 4: Numbers of invertebrate species recorded in the Arctic deep basin and in the eurasian Arctic marginal seas according to Sirenko [6] There are only few records of the fauna of the deep Arctic basin, and they are limited to a low number of samples. All the up-to date records show very low biomass (from 5 to 32 mg C m-2) and species diversity (from 1 to 11 species per 0.02 m2) of macrozoobenthos dwelling in arctic deep basins [7] . The fauna of the Siberian shallow shelf seas is also relatively impoverished as it is confronted with the low primary productivity and physical stress produced by massive riverine inflows. The productive waters of the Barents Sea host much higher numbers of species that other arctic regions [8] (Fig. 4).

The local hot-spots of both productivity and biodiversity in the Arctic include flaw lead systems, polynyas, areas of oceanographic fronts where mixing between cold polar and temperate waters occur and marginal ice zone [9] . Threats Figure 5: The decrease of Arctic Ocean multiyear sea ice: minimum sea-ice extent in 1982 and 2007, and projections of the future successive decrease of sea-ice extent within this century (according to the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment ). The graphic was produced by Hugo Ahlenius (UNEP/GRID-Arendal) and is available at . (Last visited March 11, 2009). The main threats to biodiversity in this region are generated by the potential effects of the global warming. Land-surface air temperatures increased with an average rate of 0.09˚C/decade in the Arctic form 1900 to 2003 that is greater than overall trend documented for the northern hemisphere (0.06˚C/decade) [10] . The warming is accompanied by the decrease of both spatial extent and thickness of the Arctic sea-ice cover (Fig. 5).

The possible effects of the climate warming on the marine ecosystems of the Arctic Ocean were summarized by Loeng et al [9] and include: poleward shift in species distributions – both southern limits of distribution of coldwater species and northern limits of warm water temperate species will move northward, increase of primary productivity (driven by the removal of light limitation after the disappearance of sea ice cover) and possible change of timing of the blooms – that can affect the pelago-benthic coupling processes, the dramatic decrease of the sea-ice extent will affect the sea ice ecosystems . The decline of the sea-ice extent will improve the accessibility of the Arctic Ocean to shipping and exploration of the natural resources (extensive fishing and exploration of large oil and gas reserves). That will certainly largely increase the anthropogenic pressure on the relatively pristine ecosystems of the Arctic Oceans. References ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jakobsson, M., 2002, Hypsometry and volume of the Arctic Ocean and its constituent's seas, Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, v. 3, no. 2. ↑ Jakobsson, M., R. Macnab, L. Mayer, R. Anderson, M. Edwards, J.

Hatzky, H. W. Schenke, and P. Johnson (2008), An improved bathymetric portrayal of the Arctic Ocean: Implications for ocean modeling and geological, geophysical and oceanographic analyses, Geophysical Research Letters, DOI: doi: 10.1029/2008gl033520. ↑ MacDonald, R.W., Bewers, J.M., 1996, Contaminants in the arctic marine environment: priorities for protection. ICES J Mar Sci 53: 537-563 ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sakshaug, E., 2003, Primary and Secondary Production in the Arctic Seas. in: Stein, R., MacDonald, R.W., The organic carbon cycle in the Arctic Ocean. Springer, pp 57-81 ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Dunton, K., 1992, Arctic biogeography: the paradox of the marine benthic fauna and flora. TREE 7, 183-189.

↑ Sirenko, B.I., 2001, List of species of free-living invertebrates of eurasian arctic seas and adjacent deep waters. Explorations of the fauna of the seas 51(59) St Petersburg, 1-129. ↑ Klages, M., Boetius A., Christensen, J.P., Deubel, H., Piepenburg, D., Schewe, I., Soltwedel, T., 2003, The benthos of Arctic Seas and its role for the organic carbon cycle at the seafloor. in: Stein, R., MacDonald, R.W., The organic carbon cycle in the Arctic Ocean. Springer, pp 139-167. ↑ Sirenko, B.I., 2001, List of species of free-living invertebrates of eurasian arctic seas and adjacent deep waters. Explorations of the fauna of the seas 51(59) St Petersburg, 1-129.

↑ 9.0 9.1 Loeng H, Brander K, Carmack E, Denisenko S and others (2005) Marine systems. In: Symon C, Arris L, Heal B (eds) Arctic climate impact assessment, ACIA. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p 453–538. available at ↑ McBean, G, Alekseev, G., Chen, D., Forland, E. and others (2005) Arctic Climate: Past and Present. In: Symon C, Arris L, Heal B (eds) Arctic climate impact assessment, ACIA. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p 21- 60.

available at See also The seas that surround the Arctic Ocean - Barents Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, Beaufort Sea referat The seas that surround the Arctic Ocean - Barents Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, Beaufort Sea referat The seas that surround the Arctic Ocean The surface waters of the Arctic Ocean mingle with those of the Pacific Ocean through the Bering Strait, by way of a narrow and shallow channel, which has a depth of 55 m (180 ft). More importantly, the Arctic waters mix with those of the Atlantic Ocean across a system of submarine sills (shallow ridges) that span the great distances from Scotland to Greenland and from Greenland to Baffin Island at depths of 500 to 700 m (1,600 to 2,300 ft). Emptying into the Arctic Ocean are the Ob’, Yenisey, and Lena rivers in Asia and the Mackenzie River in North America. The total surface area of the Arctic Ocean is 14.1 million sq km (5.4 million sq mi).

The major subdivisions of the Arctic Ocean include the Norwegian, Barents, Kara, Laptev, and Beaufort seas. Barents Sea (Russian Barentsovo More), arm of the Arctic Ocean, named for its discoverer, the Dutch navigator Willem Barents. The sea is bounded on the west by the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard and on the east by the two islands of Novaya Zemlya, which belong to Russia. The sea extends north from Norway, Finland, and Russia for 1,500 km (900 mi), and is bounded on the north by Franz Josef Land (Zemlya Frantsa Iosifa). The sea is shallow, and the southern part is free of ice all year. Trawlers from northern European ports fish its waters for cod and haddock. During World War II (1939-45) the Barents Sea served as an important traffic route; it provided the only direct surface approach to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

At present it forms the westernmost part of the 8,000-km (5,000-mi) seaway leading from Murmansk in Europe to Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean. Kara Sea, southern arm of the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of Russia, situated between the islands of Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya, and the northwestern coast of Siberia in Russia. It has an area of 777,000 sq km (300,000 sq mi). Ice-locked for most of the year, the sea is usually a navigable fishing ground during August and September and is an outlet for the Yenisey, Pyasina, Taymyr, and Ob’ rivers. The chief ports of the Kara Sea are Dikson and Tambey. The Northern Sea Route, maintained for shipping year round, passes through the Kara Sea.

The route also passes through the Kassk Strait (Proliv Karskiye Vorota), which connects the Kara Sea with the Pechorsk Sea (Pechorskoye More), and the Vil'kitsk Strait (Proliv Vil'kitskogo), which connects the Kara Sea with the Laptev Sea (More Laptevykh). The Matochkin Strait (Proliv Matochkin Shar), dividing Novaya Zemlya, connects the Kara Sea with the Barents Sea. Laptev Sea (Russian More Laptevykh), part of the Arctic Ocean, off the northern coast of Siberia Russia. The Taymyr Peninsula is to the west, and the New Siberian Islands (Russian Novosibirskiye Ostrova) are to the east. The sea is frozen for much of the year. Tiksi, near the mouth of the Lena River, is the chief port. The Laptev Sea is named for the 18th-century Russian cousins Khariton and Dmitri Laptev, who explored and mapped its shores Beaufort Sea, arm of the Arctic Ocean, bordered on the east and south by Canada, and on the southwest by Alaska.

In the north it extends from Point Barrow, Alaska, to the Canadian Archipelago. The sea occupies an area of 450,000 sq km (170,000 sq mi). The average depth is 1,000 m (3,300 ft) and the maximum depth is 4,682 m (15,361 ft). The coastal waters of the Beaufort Sea are shallow, generally measuring less than 50 m (160 ft). Most of the sea is permanently covered by the polar ice pack, which is often more than 5 m (15 ft) thick, although ice along the shores melts during the summer. The Mackenzie River, one of the longest rivers in North America, flows into the sea near the town of Inuvik. Approximately 10,000 people live along the coast of the Beaufort Sea; almost all are Inupiat in Alaska and Inuvialuit in Canada.

Alaskan communities along the sea include Barrow, the largest, as well as Nuiqsut and Kaktovik; Canadian communities include Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk, Aklavik, Sachs Harbour, Paulatuk, and Holman. Wildlife in the region includes musk ox, caribou, reindeer, herring, salmon, seabirds, and bowhead and beluga whales. Offshore drilling for oil and gas is possible in the shallow coastline waters of the Beaufort Sea, especially in the Canadian section, which has an extensive continental shelf. Sparked by high oil prices in the 1970s, oil companies drilled hundreds of wells in the sea and discovered significant deposits of oil and gas. However, further development has been prevented by lower oil prices, the high cost of production and shipping to southern markets, and a land claim settlement in 1984 between the Inuvialuit and the Canadian government. Oil wells near Prudhoe Bay (an arm of the Beaufort Sea) began operating in 1977, sending oil through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline to the ice-free port of Valdez in southern Alaska; these wells continue to operate.

The sea was named for British naval officer Sir Francis Beaufort, who supported explorations in the area during the 19th century. Later in the century whaling became an important industry in the region. Herschel Island, located off the coast of the Yukon Territory, served as a wintering station for U.S. whaling ships. Commercial whaling generally ceased by the early 20th century, although the indigenous peoples, who had assisted the whalers, continued to harvest marine life for local use. During an expedition into the Canadian Arctic (1913-1918), Canadian-born American explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson first crossed the ice and explored the Beaufort Sea. Lincoln Sea | Article about Lincoln Sea by The Free Dictionary Lincoln Sea | Article about Lincoln Sea by The Free Dictionary Lincoln Sea a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, near the shores of Ellesmere Island and Greenland. It is connected to Baffin Bay by a system of channels (Robeson, Kennedy, and Smith). The shores of the Lincoln Sea are rocky and strongly dissected by fjords covered with glaciers. It has depths up to 2,000 m. The currents are directed eastward.

The tides are semidiurnal, with heights of approximately 0.8 m. Most of the sea is covered year-round with drifting ice which has been building up for many years. The sea was named in honor of the United States president A. Lincoln. Beaufort Sea | sea in Arctic Ocean Beaufort Sea Beaufort Sea The Beaufort Sea is a part of the Arctic Ocean, lies north of the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, and Alaska and west of Canada's Arctic islands. Its northwestern part is bordered by a line connecting Point Barrow, Alaska, and Lands End, Prince Patrick Island. The sea covers about 450,000 km (170,000 mi) in area. Naming: The name of the Sea is come from the Irish hydrographer Sir Francis Beaufort. Resources: The Beaufort Sea is rich petroleum reserves beneath the seabed, a continuation of proven reserves in the nearby Mackenzie River and North Slope. The large Mackenzie River and many small rivers flow into the sea. Climate The entire Beaufort Sea is totally frozen during much of the year-round. It is covered by permanent ice-pack in the northern edge.

In the month of August and September the ice break up. Temperature ranging from 29.5 F (-1.4 C) in summer to 28.8 F (-1.8 C) in winter. Sea water is separated into four layers. Surface water is the top 100m (330ft); temperature in summer is -1.4 C (29.5 F) and in winter is -1.8 C (28.8 F). The second layer is formed by the inflows from Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea through the Bering Strait. The third layer is deep Atlantic layer and its temperature ranges from 0 and 1 C (32 to 34 F). The final layer is Bit colder ranges from -0.4 to -0.8 C (31.3 to 30.6 F). Ecology The Sea is the main home for whales and sea birds and is still not used by commercial traffic. The Beaufort Sea is the southern end limit for the Polar bear in North America. Beaufort Sea contains more than 70 species of phytoplankton and nearly 80 species of zooplankton.

Bottom of fauna consists of 700 species of polychaetes, bryozoans, crustaceans, and mollusks. Arctic Ocean | Britannica.com Arctic Ocean smallest of the world’s oceans, centring approximately on the North Pole. Displaying Featured Arctic Ocean Articles Russia country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. Once the preeminent republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.; commonly known as the Soviet Union), Russia became an independent country after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. Russia is a land of superlatives. By far the world’s... Iceland island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. Lying on the constantly active geologic border between North America and Europe, Iceland is a land of vivid contrasts of climate, geography, and culture. Sparkling glaciers, such as Vatna Glacier (Vatnajökull), Europe’s largest, lie across its ruggedly beautiful mountain ranges; abundant hot geysers... Greenland the world’s largest island, lying in the North Atlantic Ocean. Greenland is noted for its vast tundra and immense glaciers.

Although Greenland remains a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the island’s home-rule government is responsible for most domestic affairs. The Greenlandic people are primarily Inuit (Eskimo). The capital of Greenland is Nuuk (Godthåb).... ocean continuous body of salt water that is contained in enormous basins on Earth’s surface. When viewed from space, the predominance of Earth’s oceans is readily apparent. The oceans and their marginal seas cover nearly 71 percent of Earth’s surface, with an average depth of 3,795 metres (12,450 feet). The exposed land occupies the remaining 29 percent... North Pole northern end of Earth’s axis, lying in the Arctic Ocean, about 450 miles (725 km) north of Greenland. This geographic North Pole does not coincide with the magnetic North Pole—to which magnetic compasses point and which in the early 21st century lay north of the Queen Elizabeth Islands of extreme northern Canada at approximately 82°15′ N 112°30′ W... Svalbard archipelago, part of Norway, located in the Arctic Ocean well north of the Arctic Circle.

The islands lie between longitude 10° and 35° E and latitude 74° and 81° N, about 580 miles (930 km) north of Tromsø, Norway. The archipelago is composed of nine main islands: Spitsbergen (formerly West Spitsbergen), North East Land, Edge Island, Barents Island,... Arctic Ocean smallest of the world’s oceans, centring approximately on the North Pole. The Arctic Ocean and its marginal seas—the Chukchi, East Siberian, Laptev, Kara, Barents, White, Greenland, and Beaufort and, according to some oceanographers, also the Bering and Norwegian seas—are the least-known basins and bodies of water in the world ocean as a result of... Northwest Passage historical sea passage of the North American continent. It represents centuries of effort to find a route westward from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through the Arctic Archipelago of what became Canada. History of exploration The quest for the passage was one of the world’s severest maritime challenges. The route is located 500 miles (800...

Bering Strait strait linking the Arctic Ocean with the Bering Sea and separating the continents of Asia and North America at their closest point. The strait averages 98 to 164 feet (30 to 50 metres) in depth and at its narrowest is about 53 miles (85 km) wide. There are numerous islands in the strait, including the two Diomede Islands (about 6 square miles [16 square... Jan Mayen island, part of the Kingdom of Norway, in the Greenland Sea of the Arctic Ocean, about 300 mi (500 km) east of Greenland. It is approximately 35 mi long and 9 mi across at its widest point, with an area of 144 sq mi (373 sq km). It is the peak of a submarine volcanic ridge, and Beerenberg volcano (7,470 ft [2,277 m]), the last major eruption of which... Spitsbergen largest island of the Svalbard archipelago, part of Norway, in the Arctic Ocean.

Spitsbergen, with an area of 15,075 square miles (39,044 square km), is approximately 280 miles (450 km) long and ranges from 25 to 140 miles (40 to 225 km) wide. The terrain is mountainous, and most of the island is covered with glaciers. The highest point on the island... Wrangel Island island, in Chukotka autonomous okrug (district), far northeastern Russia, lying in the Arctic Ocean and separating the East Siberian Sea from the Chukchi Sea. The long, narrow island is about 78 miles (125 km) wide and occupies an area of some 2,800 square miles (7,300 square km). It is separated from the Siberian mainland by Long Strait. Wrangel Island... Ellesmere Island largest island of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Baffin region, Nunavut territory, Canada, located off the northwest coast of Greenland. The island is believed to have been visited by Vikings in the 10th century.

It was seen in 1616 by the explorer William Baffin and was named in 1852 by Sir Edward A. Inglefield’s Expedition (which navigated the coast... Yenisey River river of central Russia, one of the longest rivers in Asia. The world’s sixth largest river in terms of discharge, the Yenisey runs from south to north across the great expanse of central Siberia. It traverses a vast region of strikingly varied landscapes where ancient peoples and customs as well as an enormous economic infrastructure are found. Physical... Franz Josef Land archipelago of 191 islands in the northeastern Barents Sea, the northernmost territory of Russia. It falls administratively into Arkhangelsk oblast (province). The islands, with a land area of 6,229 square miles (16,134 square km), consist of three groups. The easternmost includes Rudolf Island, whose Fligeli Cape is the northernmost point in Russia,... Ob River river of central Russia.

One of the greatest rivers of Asia, the Ob flows north and west across western Siberia in a twisting diagonal from its sources in the Altai Mountains to its outlet through the Gulf of Ob into the Kara Sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is a major transportation artery, crossing territory at the heart of Russia that is extraordinarily... Lena River major river of Russia and the 11th longest river, or river system, in the world. It flows 2,734 miles (4,400 km) from its sources in the mountains along the western shores of Lake Baikal, in southeastern Siberia, to the mouth of its delta on the Arctic Laptev Sea. The area of the river’s drainage basin is about 961,000 square miles (2,490,000 square... Mackenzie River major river system in the drainage pattern of northwestern North America. Its basin is the largest in Canada, and it is exceeded on the continent only by the Mississippi-Missouri system. The Mackenzie system drains an area of some 697,000 square miles (1,805,200 square km), which is almost as large as Mexico.

From the headwaters of the Finlay River,... Prudhoe Bay small inlet of the Beaufort Sea and Arctic Ocean, indenting the northern coast of Alaska, U.S. It is situated about 200 miles (320 km) east-southeast of Point Barrow. The bay has been the centre of drilling activities since the discovery of vast petroleum deposits on Alaska’s North Slope in 1968. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline links the area to Valdez,... Beaufort Sea outlying sea of the Arctic Ocean situated north of Canada and Alaska. It extends northeastward from Point Barrow, Alaska, toward Lands End on Prince Patrick Island, and westward from Banks Island to the Chukchi Sea. Its surface area is about 184,000 sq mi (476,000 sq km). The average depth is 3,239 ft (1,004 m) and the greatest depth 15,360 ft. It... Severnaya Zemlya Russian “Northern Land”, archipelago, Krasnoyarsk kray (region), northern Russia.

It lies in the Arctic Ocean between the Kara Sea (west) and Laptev Sea (east). Severnaya Zemlya lies immediately north of Cape Chelyuskin, the most northerly point in Siberia, from which it is separated by Vilkitsky Strait. The Severnaya Zemlya archipelago, which has... Tuktoyaktuk hamlet, Inuvik region, northwestern Northwest Territories, Canada, lying on the Beaufort Sea. It is situated 20 miles (32 km) east of the Mackenzie River delta and 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Inuvik town. Tuktoyaktuk (an Inuit word for “reindeer that looks like caribou”) was established in 1936 as a Hudson’s Bay Company trading post and transport... Novaya Zemlya archipelago in northwestern Russia, lying in the Arctic Ocean and separating the Barents and Kara seas.

Novaya Zemlya (“New Land”) consists of two large islands, Severny (northern) and Yuzhny (southern), aligned for 600 miles (1,000 km) in a southwest-northeast direction, plus several smaller islands. The two major islands are separated by a narrow... Barents Sea outlying portion of the Arctic Ocean 800 miles (1,300 km) long and 650 miles (1,050 km) wide and covering 542,000 square miles (1,405,000 square km). Its average depth is 750 feet (229 m), plunging to a maximum of 2,000 feet (600 m) in the major Bear Island Trench. It is bounded by the archipelagoes of Svalbard and Franz Josef Land (north), the Norwegian... White Sea an almost landlocked extension of the Arctic Ocean indenting the shores of northwestern Russia. It is connected to the more northerly Barents Sea by a long, narrow strait known as the Gorlo (“Throat”).

The boundary between the two seas runs along a line joining Cape Kanin Nos and Cape Svyatoy Nos. The area of the White Sea is approximately 35,000 square... Kaffeklubben Island island and one of the world’s northernmost points of land, in the Arctic Ocean, 37 km (20 nautical miles) east of Cape Morris Jesup, Greenland. Kaffeklubben (Danish: “Coffee Club”) was discovered in 1900 by Robert E. Peary, the American Arctic explorer. The island was visited in 1921 by the Danish explorer Lauge Koch, who named it for the Kaffeklub... Arctic Archipelago Group of Canadian islands, Arctic Ocean. They lie north of the Canadian mainland and have an area of about 550,000 sq mi (1,424,500 sq km). The southeastern islands are an extension of the Canadian Shield; the balance consists of the Arctic lowlands to the south and the Innuitian Mountains to the north. The archipelago includes the large islands of...

Devon Island largest of the Parry Islands, in Nunavut, Canada, in the Arctic Ocean south of Ellesmere Island and west of Baffin Bay. It is about 320 miles (515 km) long, 80–100 miles (130–160 km) wide, and has an area of 21,331 square miles (55,247 square km). Chiefly an ice-covered plateau, the island rises from about 2,000 feet (600 metres) in the west to reach... Kara Sea marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off western Siberia (Russia), between the Novaya Zemlya islands (west), Franz Josef Land (northwest), and the Severnaya Zemlya islands (east). It is connected with the Arctic Basin (north), the Barents Sea (west), and the Laptev Sea (east). It has an area of 340,000 square miles (880,000 square km). Average...

Chukchi Sea part of the Arctic Ocean, bounded by Wrangel Island (west), northeastern Siberia and northwestern Alaska (south), the Beaufort Sea (east), and the Arctic continental slope (north). It has an area of 225,000 square miles (582,000 square km) and an average depth of 253 feet (77 m). The sea is navigable between July and October both eastward and westward...

Question: In which ocean are the Kara, Beaufort and Lincoln Seas situated?
Answer: Arctic Ocean